Veterans now number roughly 14 million in the U.S., yet data suggests our nation's medical professionals may not be adequately prepared to care for veterans' unique needs, according to a report by Kaiser Health News.
The report cites data from the American Association of Medical Colleges that found in 2012 only about half of the nation's medical schools offered courses on how to treat former members of the military.
For this reason, a group of medical professionals have pushed to include questions on veteran care in all three stages of the medical licensing exam so that medical schools will be forced to teach it.
Brian Baird, MD, former U.S. Representative for Washington, led the initiative. He told KHN, "I've asked a lot of physicians about it, and many of them said, 'You know I've had courses in things I will never see in my practice. But there's a pretty darn good chance I'm going to see somebody who's been deployed.'"
Now, the report notes, the challenge will be bringing this knowledge to continuing medical education and EHRs so physicians are even asking children appropriate questions, in the event they have a family member who has been deployed.
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